


The Body Is A Canvas

by goldenteaset



Series: A Taste of Power [2]
Category: Dance with Devils (Anime)
Genre: Attempting to Understand Each Other, Character Study, F/M, Hand & Finger Kink, Light Masochism, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 02:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19758952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenteaset/pseuds/goldenteaset
Summary: "Ritsuka is going to die.Not from having the Grimoire removed, or from blood loss or having her soul sucked out. No, she’s convinced she’s going to die of embarrassment. And it’s all because of Shiki."Sequel to A Taste of Power.





	The Body Is A Canvas

**Author's Note:**

> *Pokes head back into Dance With Devils fandom* Hallo! :D A recent comment on "A Taste of Power" reminded me that I had its sequel written but not posted, and so here it is two years later. (At least it's here, right?)
> 
> This is set in a rather amorphous timeline: episode 6 happened, followed by "A Taste of Power", and then the events of later episodes occurred at a slower pace than they canonically do. Otherwise this moment couldn't happen! ^^; 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own A Dance With Devils.

Ritsuka is going to die.

Not from having the Grimoire removed, or from blood loss or having her soul sucked out. No, she’s convinced she’s going to die of embarrassment. And it’s all because of Shiki.

“I—I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you…”

Shiki gives her a sideways glance as he lazily strokes the ripening bruise on his arm. He’s rolled up his sleeve to get a better look, and the bluish-purple mark contrasts sharply against his pale skin. The sun-drenched water fountain they’re sitting at makes the bruise look worse.

“Don’t apologize. You gave me this, why should you feel bad?”

“Well…I hurt you, didn’t I?”

Shiki hums thoughtfully and strokes the bruise again, pushing down on the skin. “Yes. But I enjoy it.”

“Why?” She’s wondered this since that night he visited her, and he took a slap in the face as if it were a gift from God.

Judging by Shiki’s grin, she’s asked a question he rarely gets to answer. “Oh, there are many reasons. Angels aren’t allowed to ‘feel’ much. Since I’m a _Fallen_ Angel, I have that luxury.” He changes position, his body turned fully toward hers. “How to put it? The way silk glides across your skin, or wet grass tickling your bare feet—those things feel good to most people, right? Well, I enjoy them too, but…”

“But what?”

Shiki idly dips his hand in the water, trailing his fingers back and forth. “But many types of pain appeal to me more. They feel…” He frowns as if in thought. “They feel more like a lover’s caress than an _actual_ caress. Though that’s nice too.”

“A lover’s…?” Ritsuka’s heart begins to pound in her chest.

Shiki chuckles and brings his hand out of the water with a _splash._ Droplets speckle his white shirt, and she tries not to see the pale, unmarred flesh underneath.

“The body is a canvas too, you know,” he says, holding his wrist to his lips. “An angel’s flesh can stretch and tear and change color in _endless_ ways.” His pink tongue licks up the dripping water, teasingly slow.

She can’t look away. Her fingers clench in her soft skirt. “You’re…being too forward,” she says, once she finds her voice.

“Still?” He actually pouts. “But I’m not touching you.”

“That’s not the point,” she says, her cheeks burning. “I—I don’t know what you want from me.”

“Oh, I see, I see! I just wanted to answer your question, that’s all. And show off the beautiful art you made.”

Ritsuka glances at the bruise again, how the water turns purple and enlarges the tiny veins beneath the mark. “I guess…I guess I can see what you mean. I’m still sorry, though.”

Shiki shakes his head and smiles. “So kind. You’re a special girl, Ritsuka.” He says her name slowly, as if savoring the taste. 

Before Ritsuka can comment on it, he dips his hand in the water again for a moment. He playfully flicks his fingers at her; the drops glow like diamonds in the sun as they land on her uniform.

She jumps at the cold, and he chuckles.

“See? Now we’re even.”

He pops his little finger in his mouth, sucking the remaining water away. As he leans on his free hand and basks in the warm sun, it’s hard to tell if he’s being suggestive or innocent. The white rays glow across his skin.

The little finger’s clean. Shiki glances at her out of the corner of his eye. “Do you like my fingers?”

Ritsuka considers objecting, but she figures she’s been too obvious to lie. They caught her eye back in the garden, as well. “Yes, they’re…” She fumbles for something to say. “They’re nice” is all she can think of.

“Really? I’m glad to hear it.” He blinks slowly. “What should I do with them? Tell me.”

Her throat’s dry. She clears it and keeps her voice steady. “What you were doing before. You don’t need me to order you around.”

“No, but I’d enjoy it… _very_ much.” The velvety whisper of his voice makes heat trickle down her back.

She knew the answer he’d give before he said it, but that doesn’t make the world around her tremble any less. She’s seen how much he enjoys her orders—the gleam in his blood-red eyes, the way he looks posed in sweet supplication. But all the knowledge in the world can’t prepare her for how those things make her feel.

Shiki moves on to the next finger. It slowly disappears down to the knuckle, with soft sucking sounds in its wake. He looks at her with half-lidded eyes, his lips curling into a smile as he pulls the finger out again, free of water but gleaming wetly in the light.

Ritsuka’s body burns with heat—and not just from the sun. She does her best to keep her expression neutral, and subtly crosses her legs.

Shiki doesn’t mention it, though; he seems to know that would scare her off. He just moves on to the middle finger. As it passes his lips, he lets out a soft moan that makes her skin prickle pleasantly.

With her throat so dry, the water gushing from the fountain seems to taunt her. But she’ll endure it.

“You’re getting bored…” Shiki says, after his middle finger receives a thorough cleaning. “What else should I do, Ritsuka?”

Ritsuka doesn’t have an answer, at first. There’s little she can say, in her current state of mind. Heat coils in her belly, insistent and strangely sweet.

So she decides to stand. She makes a point of brushing off her skirt and hefting her schoolbag over her shoulder.

“I’m late,” she says in as steady a voice as she can manage. “Have a nice day, Shiki.”

“Oh, I will,” Shiki replies, his smile full of boyish innocence. 

Ritsuka nods in acknowledgement and hurries to the bathroom—she has a few minutes before her next class. Maybe splashing her face with cold water will calm her down. _There’s no way I can sit in front of the teacher like this!_

The plan doesn’t quite succeed. She’s still thinking of Shiki and his bruised, beautiful hand in the middle of class, and wondering just how far he’d follow her orders. _Not too far, I hope. He’d stop me before then…right?_

She hates that she isn’t sure, and that she’s even worrying about it in the first place. There are more important things to worry about.

And yet, even as she thinks that, another part of her strengthens in conviction. _If I’m the Grimoire…then I’ll protect him before that happens._ Her mind flashes on him in her bedroom—and his sweet, moonlit smile as they talked about painting. _Yes. I don't know why, but even if it’s just for a moment, I want him to smile more._

Perhaps one day she'll understand.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated. :D


End file.
